Pirates aim to sweep series against the Cardinals #Pirates #aim #sweep #series #Cardinals

St. Louis Cardinals (55-72, fifth in the NL Central) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (57-69, fourth in the NL Central)

Pittsburgh; Wednesday, 12:35 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Cardinals: Zack Thompson (2-5, 3.90 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 39 strikeouts); Pirates: Luis L. Ortiz (0-0)

FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Cardinals -123, Pirates +103; over/under is 9 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Pittsburgh Pirates will try to sweep a three-game series with a victory against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Pittsburgh has a 31-32 record in home games and a 57-69 record overall. The Pirates have a 28-51 record in games when they have allowed at least one home run.

St. Louis is 55-72 overall and 27-35 in road games. The Cardinals have the fifth-best team on-base percentage in MLB play at .331.

Wednesday’s game is the 10th time these teams meet this season. The Pirates are up 7-2 in the season series.

TOP PERFORMERS: Bryan Reynolds has 26 doubles, four triples and 18 home runs while hitting .268 for the Pirates. Andrew McCutchen is 8-for-39 with two home runs over the last 10 games.

Nolan Arenado has 23 doubles, two triples, 26 home runs and 85 RBI for the Cardinals. Tommy Edman is 10-for-40 with a double, three home runs and six RBI over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Pirates: 5-5, .229 batting average, 4.03 ERA, outscored opponents by four runs

Cardinals: 4-6, .252 batting average, 5.93 ERA, outscored by 29 runs

INJURIES: Pirates: Henry Davis: 10-Day IL (hand), Angel Perdomo: 15-Day IL (elbow), Colin Holderman: day-to-day (arm), Carmen Mlodzinski: 15-Day IL (elbow), Tucupita Marcano: 60-Day IL (knee), Vince Velasquez: 60-Day IL (elbow), Oneil Cruz: 60-Day IL (ankle), JT Brubaker: 60-Day IL (elbow), Jarlin Garcia: 60-Day IL (arm), Max Kranick: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Cardinals: Matthew Liberatore: 15-Day IL (back), Lars Nootbaar: 10-Day IL (lower abdomen), Nolan Gorman: 10-Day IL (back), Steven Matz: 15-Day IL (lat), Dylan Carlson: 10-Day IL (oblique), Brendan Donovan: 10-Day IL (elbow), Ryan Helsley: 60-Day IL (forearm), Jake Woodford: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Packy Naughton: 60-Day IL (forearm), Wilking Rodriguez: 60-Day IL (shoulder)